The Source Of Balance
by IceByrd67
Summary: Koren’s just arrived in Angel’s care from another dimension with no memories. Wolfram & Hart have their goons after her and she completely confused as to who’s good and who's bad. Which side of the battle will she choose? Will she choose love or de
1. Who am i?

The Source of Balance By Icebyrd67  
  
This story is about a girl named Koren Natia and her tale. She appeared on this dimension one night, with no memories of who she was or where she was from. The only clue of her past was the locket she wore. It appeared that Wolfram and Hart and their league of fellow demons knew more about her than she and the crew of Angel Investigation did. Can Angel and his band of 'sidekicks' help her and find out who and what she is before it's too late? Will she be able to choose sides? Will she choose love or destiny?  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters, except for Koren Natia, and any character you've never heard of. I am also not associated with any of the actors or actresses, although I wished Vincent, the guy who plays Connor, lived in my closet so that I may have him near me at all times.but since I can't, I have to live with having his picture plastered about my room and things. And I'm hoping this plot is original, except for the part where she meets Connor, because clearly, I'm using the scene from the episode where Cordy returns to Angel and the gang of 'sidekicks', only instead of Cordy, its Koren with Connor.And now that I'm done ranting and everyone is probably afraid to read my story, I'll get to it. READ, HAVE FUN, and REVIEW! =)  
  
Title: The Source of Balance Author: Icebyrd67 Type: Angel Fan Fic Main Characters: Angel, Connor, Koren, and the "scuba squad". Rating: R for language, violence and loving Summary: Koren's just arrived in Angel's care from another dimension with no memories. Wolfram & Hart have their goons after her and she completely confused as to who's on the good side and who's on the bad. Which side of the battle will she choose? Will she choose love or destiny?  
  
  
  
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Angel glanced up from his seat on the bed, cocking his head to one side, like he had heard something. He got up and put his coffee mug of blood down on the table.  
  
"Where are you going?" Cordelia asked, looking up from her magazine.  
  
"Outside. I think I heard something so I'm going to check it out. I'll be back in a bit. Its probably nothing." He said, giving her a soft kiss on the lips as he picked up a small wooden stake.  
  
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Angel patrolled the gardens surrounding the hotel, listening for every little noise. Suddenly he heard harsh whispers.  
  
"I've found the key!" Someone or something hissed from around the corner of the building. Then a loud scream drowned out the rest. Angel ran to rescue the screamer and arrived just in time to see a vampire turn to dust and a flash of gray as someone disappeared into the trees.  
  
"Oh goddess." The screamer, a young girl about the age of 17 or 18 sobbed as she rocked back and forth, hugging her knees to her chest. Angel moved forward and kneeled beside her, placing a hand on her arm. Her frightened eyes darted up and seeing him, she began to scoot away.  
  
"It's okay. I'm here to help. I won't hurt you." Angel assured her, as if he was talking to a scared child. She slowly got up and threw herself into his arms, sobbing even harder. "It's okay. I'm here now. You're safe now."  
  
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"Are you okay?" Cordelia asked the girl as Fred helped her clean the scratches on her arms and legs.  
  
"I think so. Who are you?" She inquired glancing at all the faces around her.  
  
"Well, I'm Angel and this is Fred, Cordelia, Gunn, and well.he's Lorne." Each person waves or nodded as he presented them.  
  
"Well, sugar nut, looks like you've got yourself into a good tangle with the brambles." Lorne said, getting up to get more bandages for Fred.  
  
"Umm.that guy's a bit green and he has horns." She whispered, looking at the demon.  
  
"Who? Lorne? He was born that way." Fred explained.  
  
"Oh.why does this not frighten me?" She asked, looking at Angel.  
  
"I'm not exactly sure. By the way, what's your name?" Gunn answered.  
  
"Well.umm.I'm not exactly sure about that myself. I was hoping you knew." She responded, dropping her eyes back to the ground. Silence filled the room for a few moments as everyone tried to think of a response to the girl comment. She sighed and brought her hand up to wipe away the dripping tears.  
  
"Well.why don't you look at you locket. That might tell you something." Cordy answered finally. The girl glanced down, surprised. She hadn't known she had a locket on.  
  
"I didn't even notice that." She reached around her neck and undid the clasp. Examining the silver trinket, she ran her finger lightly over two words engraved on the front of the crescent moon locket. "Koren Natia." She whispered. "I'm Koren Natia." She opened the locket to reveal a small, symmetrically round stone, set in the silver. Flashes of pinks and purples swirled inside like gases of light. On the other side were the words, 'Goddess Bless'. "Who am I?"  
  
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"Poor thing has no clue who she is or where she's from." Fred whispered to Gunn that same night as they prepared from bed.  
  
"I know.I think I would lose my mind if I didn't know who I was or where I was from." Charles Gunn answered, sliding into bed next to Fred. "Not to know who I knew or who I loved."  
  
"You'll always love me, right? Even if you lose your memory?" Fred asked, laying her head onto his chest.  
  
"Always." He replied giving her a kiss on the head. "Now tomorrow morning, bright and early, I suggest that we start combing the files for any missing girl files and maybe we'll find who she is."  
  
"Yes.I'll do that tomorrow. And she should sing for Lorne. He should be able to see something about her, maybe see some clues. And we could have Cordy go ask around to see if anyone knows her. Or even take her shopping for some clothes that fits. And Angel can do research and find out what 'the key' is exactly."  
  
"Sure, pumpkin. But lets get some sleep, okay? Before you launch off into an entire plan of action."  
  
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"They found the key? Are you sure?" Lilah asked one of the other lawyers.  
  
"Yes. We're quite sure, only the problem is, Angel found her first." One of the 'Ninja lawyers' answered. "Ideas as to solve our problem?"  
  
"I'm not entirely sure. Has she sung for Lorne?" Lilah asked, flipping the pages of her binder, looking for what she wanted.  
  
"No. She has not."  
  
"Well then get back to me when she has!" Lilah snapped.  
  
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	2. Enchanted Bag?

EEP! I've been flipping through the stories under ANGEL, and I cannot believe how many people like to kill of Connor! NO OFFENSE OR CRITISM, but Connor's my all time favorite for this show.I liked Doyle too, but he's long gone.I just can't see myself killing off Vincent's sexiness. I simply find it impossible. Needless to say, Connor doesn't die in my story.  
  
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"Shopping?" Koren looked up from her breakfast. "You want to go shopping?"  
  
"Well, you do need something to wear and I thought this would be something nice we could do for you while the others are looking for your parents or guardian. Unless of course you want to stay in that old, beat up outfit all day and night." Cordy answered, taking sips of her coffee as she did so.  
  
"Well, no. I don't. I just thought that you would have something better to do than to be taking me around shopping. I don't know, like work and help these guys look. Or something." Koren answered. "But I would love to go shopping. That would be a lot of fun."  
  
"Then we're going shopping. Fred is going to look up missing persons reports and see if she can't find you. Lorne is going to do what he does and look for clues in the demon world. Gunn is going to help Fred and Angel's going to do what he does best. We'll get you some clothes.but until then, I think you can fit into some of Fred's clothes. Or mine if I can find any that you would fit."  
  
"Thank you." Koren said. "Thank you for helping me so much and not treating me like a freak."  
  
"No, freak is someone who would kidnap children, freak is someone who would murder someone, cold blooded, and freak is certainly not a poor girl who can't remember her past. That's just amnesia." Angel said, sitting down at the table, drinking something out of a mug.  
  
"Whatcha drinking?" Koren asked, looking at the man.  
  
"Oh.just coffee."  
  
"Liar." She answered. "Vampires down drink coffee. They drink blood. I don't know too much about vampires with souls but I think the same applies to them. Don't lie to me.tell me the truth."  
  
"Alright. I'm sorry. I just didn't want you grossed out about it." He apologized.  
  
"That's alright, I guess. Just please don't lie to me." She said softly, getting up from the table.  
  
"We'll leave in 20 minutes. Just go visit my closet and see if there's anything you would like to wear until you get some clothes of your own." Cordy directed.  
  
"Alright." Suddenly, Koren's hand flew to her pocket. "I think there's something in here I didn't notice yesterday." Koren pulled out a little drawstring bag and opened it, revealing a nice wad of cash. In twenties, tens, fives, and even fifties. But not a bill higher.  
  
"Where did that come from?" Cordy asked in amazement.  
  
"I'm not exactly sure, myself. It just was all of a suddenly. Like some divine being decided I need money and just slipped it into my pocket. Ideas?"  
  
"I don't know." Angel answered. "Check the rest of your things and make sure there's nothing else. Gunn, go with her. Just in case something nasty pops out."  
  
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"And there was just nothing else? Wow." Cordy said, as the two women attempted to find a parking spot in the overly crowded mall.  
  
"Yeah. There was just nothing else. Right there." Koren pointed to a parking space. Cordy picked up the speed and dashed into the space, just as another car attempted the same feat.  
  
"Thanks. So first I think we'll go to Rainbow and see if there isn't anything for you. Or do you just want to wander around from shop to shop?"  
  
"Shop to shop. Its just a little more fun." They went into the shop.  
  
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Five stores and $200 bucks later  
  
"I think I'm running low on cash." Koren said, pulling out the little drawstring bag. She opened it to reveal that it was full to the brim, just like it was that morning. "Umm.my guess is enchanted bag?"  
  
"I don't know. But as long as its money, we shop for your clothes. After all, we've only gotten you a few shirts and a few skirts and a few pairs of pants. Haven't got you any shoes or accessories, yet." Cordy answered. "Let's skip this shop. There are always a bunch of weird people in there." Cordy walked by a store called 'Hot Topic'; unaware of the fact that Koren had stopped in front of the store.  
  
"Cordy! Wait. I want to go in there. I like it. It feels.I don't know.homey." Koren said, walking into the dark shop before Cordy could stop her. Cordy ran after her, fearing for the worse.like demons or something.  
  
"Koren?"  
  
"Over here. What do you think of these pants?" She answered, holding up a pair of black, baggy pants with red trims. "I like them.I think I'll get them. And the blue ones too. And that pink star belt would look good with them."  
  
"Wow.they actually have clothes in this place?" Cordy said, taking the things that Koren handed her.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ "And you're saying that the bag just re-filled itself?" Fred repeated.  
  
"Yup. That's exactly what it did." Cordy answered. "So what are you going to sing for Lorne?"  
  
"I'm not sure." Koren answered, thinking. "I can just sing anything?"  
  
"Anything you want, pumpkin nut." The green demon answered. "You sing, and I read your future."  
  
"Alright." Koren said, clearing her throat.  
  
"I hear a voice say don't be so blind.  
  
It's telling me all these things that you would probably hide.  
  
Am I your one and only desire?  
  
Am I the reason you breathe or am I the reason you cry?  
  
Always, Always, always, always, always, always.  
  
I just can't live without you!  
  
I love you. I hate you. I can't get around you!  
  
I breathe you! I taste you! I can't live without you!  
  
I just can't take anymore, this life of solitude!  
  
I'm guessing I'm out the door and I am done with you.  
  
Done with you, done with you." She stopped as Lorne ran out of the room.  
  
"Lorne?" Angel asked, running after him with Cordy in tow.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"LOOK! Leave me alone!" Koren screamed at Fred and Gunn who were following her.  
  
"But don't you want to get some cookies? Or something like that?"  
  
"NO! I want to talk to Lorne, without the sidekicks!" Koren screamed, storming off, leaving Gunn and Fred staring at her retreating back.  
  
"I'm not a sidekick." Gunn shouted at her back.  
  
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Koren walked the hallways, wandering aimlessly, lost in the hotel. Suddenly she stopped, sensing something behind her.  
  
"LOOK! I don't want and cookies or anything." She turned around in time to see a man appear. He smiled and suddenly turned into a demon with large pointy teeth.  
  
"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Koren screamed, running down the hallway and down the stairs. The thing chased her, jumping the stairs rather than taking them. Just as it was about to bite her, someone flew into the room and knocked the creature down.  
  
"You're not safe here." The guy said, looking at her.  
  
"Ya think?" She answered, shrieking when the demon started to get back up. The guy threw a dagger into its heart. "Can you take me to some where safe?" The guy took a second to think. And then he held his hand out to her. 


	3. Connor

Lilah has nothing to do with Wesley in this. That's just too gross for me to work with. Wesley can do better. I swear the lady who plays Lilah is way too creepy! Wesley needs someone like Cordy or Fred, only not them. They should bring Anya to Angel and have her be with Wesley. That would be interesting. They should also bring Alan Doyle back. I liked him. She was a very cool character. Lindsey McDonald too. He was a cutie. But Connor's the cutest! OH! And this is the story where I attempt to write longer chapters, in case you've read some of my other things, which tend to run a bit short, chapter-wise. I'm estimating about 20 or so chapters for this fan fiction. Maybe more. READ AND REVIEW AND FLAME! Those are fun to read.  
  
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"What if this is who it starts? What if this is just the beginning?" Angel ranted, staring at the dead body of the demon.  
  
"Umm.Angel? Is there something you're not telling us?" Fred started at Angel.  
  
"No. This isn't the beginning. That was just one of my clients who had a nasty habit of eating humans." Lorne answered, kicking the body.  
  
"What did you see when you read her?" Gunn asked.  
  
"Lets just say most of it wasn't pretty. It was like peeling and onion from Hell. The more layers you peel, the more you cry.or in this case, vomit." Lorne answered. "I saw flashes of death, destruction, horror, blood but then there were the flashes of some divine being.with wings. She was beautiful, but I couldn't get a good look at her. And then I saw flashes of us. And some of our friends at Wolfram and Hart. And I saw a few flashes of Connor, too. Whatever's coming is coming fast and it's going to destroy everything in its path."  
  
"We've got to find her. She out there, alone, lost, and probably terrified." Angel said, handing Gunn an axe.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Wow. That is so beautiful." Koren said, staring up at the stuffed polar bear.  
  
"I love that one too." Her companion said. "I wish I had killed it."  
  
"Funny way of expressing your feelings. 'I love you. BANG! You're dead.'" Koren smiled.  
  
"Come on. This way." The guy walked off.  
  
"Why were you at the hotel?" Koren asked, following the guy.  
  
"I saw you were there." He answered, lightly punching a pole.  
  
"I know you?" she asked, looking confused.  
  
"No." he said, leading her to a set of ladders.  
  
"Wait, if I'm going to climb ladders with you, can you at least throw me a name?"  
  
"Connor." He answered.  
  
"Angel has a son named Connor. He showed me a picture. Did Angel name his son after.Oh goddess." Koren hurried up the ladder after Connor. "You're him. You're Angel's son." Connor turned and looked at her.  
  
"It's not like I got to choose." He opened a door and hurried to clean up the room.  
  
"Where are we?"  
  
"Home." He answered, sitting on the bed. She wandered over to the window.  
  
"If you're Angel's son, why don't you live with him?" She asked, looking down at the lights of L.A.  
  
"They didn't tell you? I sunk him to the bottom of the ocean. To punish him." She laughed, turning to look at him.  
  
"Oh.you're being serious." She whispered.  
  
"I tried to kill Cordelia too. I held a knife to her throat. I was new to this world. I was confused. I never told her I was sorry."  
  
"Thank you." Koren said, walking over to him. "You've been the first person to tell me the absolute truth today. I appreciate it."  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"We've found her." A ninja lawyer informed Lilah.  
  
"Good. Where is she?" Lilah asked, fiddling with her phone.  
  
"With the boy."  
  
"Assemble a team and get them ready to go."  
  
"Yes' mam."  
  
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Suddenly, Cordy grabbed her head and screamed in pain. Her visions hadn't hurt her in ages and suddenly they pained her to tears.  
  
"She with Connor! And they're after her!"  
  
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"Please don't leave." Koren said, sitting up to look at Connor from the bed.  
  
"I thought you were asleep." He answered.  
  
"I sleep lightly."  
  
"I was just going to lock the door."  
  
"Just, please don't leave. I don't think I'd know what to do if I were left alone." She suddenly started to cry softly. "I've been trying to remember who I am and all the little details. I don't even know if I have brothers and sisters. What my favorite food is? Where I'm from? Anything." She cried.  
  
"You like Twix bars. And you're brave." Connor said, sitting on the bed next to her.  
  
"Really? I like Twix?"  
  
"No. I'm not sure. But you liked them at lunch. I saw you. And you're very brave."  
  
"I was?" She asked, looking up at him.  
  
"You are. To go through this. Not knowing who you are or where you're from. It takes a very brave person to do that." He wrapped his arms around her in a hug.  
  
"Thank you so much for being here with me." She mumbled into his chest.  
  
"You're welcome. Lets get some sleep, ok?"  
  
"Sure" She said, lying back down. He crawled into the bed next to her and she snuggled against him, letting him wrap her up into a hug.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Koren opened her eyes, feeling something on her boob. Before she could figure it out, Connor jumped on her and held a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Someone's here." He whispered. And a second later, the door opened and a man tripped the trap Connor had set. Connor jumped up and took a bat to the man's body. "Can you fight?" He asked, throwing her a weapon.  
  
"I don't know, but we're about to find out." Koren answered, tucking a dagger into her belt. She adjusted her grip on the lead pipe just in time for several ninjas to burst through the door and windows.  
  
"Koren. Watch out!" Connor yelled, throwing himself into battle with several of the men. They were winning for a while before the numbers just got overwhelming for Koren. A guy managed to knock her weapon out of her hand and hit her with the butt of his dagger. She fell into the waiting arms of another ninja. "KOREN!"  
  
Connor screamed, fighting to reach her side, only to be beaten down. Suddenly the door flew off the handles and Angel and Company stormed the room, taking out ninjas, left and right.  
  
"Retreat! Orders are to retreat!" One of them screamed as the ninjas all ran out the doors and windows.  
  
"Are you okay?" Fred asked, helping Koren to her feet.  
  
"Yeah. Connor?" Koren pushed Fred away and rushed to Connor's side, helping him up. "Are you okay?"  
  
"I'm fine." He answered. "What about you?"  
  
"Thank God you're safe." Angel said. "Let's get you home, Koren. Where you'll be safe." Koren froze. And then turned around slowly.  
  
"I'd like to stay here with Connor, if you don't mind." She whispered, taking Connor's hand.  
  
"Alright then." Angel said, hesitating. "Take care of her, son." He said, his voice filling with pain and rejection.  
  
  
  
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Next chapters going to be the introduction of the Romance! And the introduction of Rhiannon Aethelreda. She's going to be an important character. And I think I'll have a character profile for her in that chapter too. Only original characters get profiles. They're going to be a bit sparse until they get more developed in the story. Then I'll add more. And you're welcome to use my characters as long as you give me credit. Please tell me too. I would like to read your story if you use my characters.  
  
CHARACTER PROFILE!  
  
Name: Koren Natia ?  
  
Age: ?16 or 17  
  
Birthplace: UNKNOWN  
  
DOB: UNKNOWN  
  
Sex: F  
  
Parents: UNK  
  
Siblings: UNK  
  
Species: appears to be human  
  
Hair: black  
  
Height: 5'6"  
  
Eyes: blue-green  
  
Weight: 120 lb  
  
Nationality: UNK  
  
Others: likes Twix and is brave. 


	4. Rhiannon Aethelreda

"I don't get it.what did we do wrong?" Angel asked, opening the door to the hotel.  
  
"I don't know. Lorne?" Cordy yelled, waiting for the green man to come out.  
  
"UHHMMMMII" they heard from a closed off room. They ran in there to find Lorne, tied up, gagged, and bleeding from a hole in his head.  
  
"What happened?" Fred asked fearfully, as she wiped away the blood from his forehead.  
  
"They came in and I wouldn't talk. And they had this demon and they just drilled in and took what they wanted." Lorne managed to say.  
  
"How much did they take?" Angel wanted to know.  
  
"I'm afraid they took all of it. Every last bit about Koren. I'm sorry Angel."  
  
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"She is the one then? The one that will tip the scale?" Lilah asked, looking at the being before her.  
  
"I'm sure of it. That girl can only be Princess Koren." The female person answered, as a smile crept onto her face.  
  
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"Why did you want to stay here with me?" Connor asked, letting Koren tend to his bruises and cuts.  
  
"I feel safer with you. I know that you won't let anything bad happen to me. I just know it. Besides, who else is going to take care of your cuts, ouches, and gonna make sure you're okay?" Koren answered, running the wet cloth over his brow. She stopped. "And plus, I like you."  
  
Connor reached up and took her hand that held the cloth and brought it down to his lips and kissed it lightly. Then he reached in and pressed his lips to hers, applying just the slightest pressure.  
  
"I'm sorry." He pulled away embarrassed. He got up before she could say anything. "I'm going to patrol the area, just around the warehouse. I'll be back in a bit. You go to bed." He walked out of the room, leaving Koren alone in the dark room.  
  
"You didn't give me a chance to respond!" She yelled into the darkness, hoping he would hear.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Fred! Get on the Internet and see what you can find out about Koren and a key. Find out what Wolfram and Hart wants with her. Gunn, break out the books. Lorne, contact your people. Cordy, contact the higher beings. I know you can. The Powers that Be have got to know something."  
  
"What about you? What are you gonna do, Angel?"  
  
"I'm gonna go keep an eye on Koren and Connor." He answered, grabbing some weapons.  
  
"Angel! Don't you think that would be a bad idea?" Cordy asked, looking over at Angel.  
  
"What do you mean? That's my son and Koren in there! Do you think I would leave them alone, unprotected?" Angel yelled, venting his frustration.  
  
"No. Not that. And you know just as well as I do that Connor is going to take perfect care of Koren. It's just I don't want you violating their privacy and trust. You know that this is what that's about. That's why Koren is staying with Connor."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry! Okay? I just don't want anything to happen to Koren. I don't know why but I feel as if she's my last chance to be the father I was supposed to be to Connor before I lost him! I just don't want to lose her too." Angel sat down and put his face into his hands. "I just don't want to have her get hurt."  
  
"Angel? It's okay. I don't want her to get hurt either, but you forget she's a grown child. She can't replace what you and Connor used to have before he went away. You have to remember that." Cordy said, giving Angel a hug. "Look, why don't you stay here and help Gunn look in the books. He can't do it all himself."  
  
"Fine." Angel said storming out of the lobby and into the back room they kept as a library.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Koren?" Connor whispered, walking back into the room. "Are you awake?" She didn't answer even though she was awake. Connor sighed and got into the bed next to her, giving her a slight kiss on her head. "Sweet dreams, Koren."  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
"Morning, sweetheart." Koren said not looking up from the chair in which she sat.  
  
"Hi. How long have you been up?" Connor asked, sitting up in bed.  
  
"Not long. An hour or so. Are you hungry? Because I ran down to the café and got us pastries and some lattes. I got coffee in the thermos if you want some. I got hungry and I didn't see anything anywhere."  
  
"You left the place without protection? Do you know how dangerous that is?" He yelled halfheartedly as he stumbled out of bed.  
  
"Yeah yeah. I got the same exact lecture from Cordelia when I ran into her at the store. I'll get it again when Angel shows up later." She said, flipping through the newspapers she held.  
  
"He's coming?" Connor repeated, brushing his hair.  
  
"Yeah. I guess so. Do you want to go by the hotel later and pick up some of my things? This place looks so drab in daylight. No color whatsoever. I was thinking maybe I could redo the interior design while you were out doing whatever you do. Just so that I have something to do besides sit around and be the helpless, defenseless maiden."  
  
"Sure." Connor answered in the shower.  
  
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"We need to get to the girl, but not in a way that she'll know who and what we are." Lilah said, looking at her goons for ideas.  
  
"Well, I don't know the customs of this world, but in ours, the way to get someone to trust you was to be their friend." Rhiannon Aethelreda said, flipping her red hair from her eyes.  
  
"That's a good idea. I think that I could do that." Lilah said.  
  
"What? Is your plan to scare off the poor girl? Or to get her on your side?" Rhiannon sneered.  
  
"Well then thank you for volunteering for the job, Rhiannon!" Lilah spat at her.  
  
"What? You want me, who is 400 years Koren's senior to play babysitter for you and to be her friend? In case you have forgotten, I was sent here to kill her. Use her and kill her were my orders. Not be her friend."  
  
  
  
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CHARACTER PROFILE!  
  
Name: Rhiannon Aethelreda  
  
Age: 4?? 400 and something  
  
Birthplace: UNKNOWN  
  
DOB: UNKNOWN  
  
Sex: F  
  
Parents: UNK  
  
Siblings: UNK  
  
Species: appears to be human, but obviously not  
  
Hair: Red  
  
Height: 5'4"  
  
Eyes: black  
  
Weight: 107  
  
Nationality: UNK  
  
Others: Orders are to use and kill Koren  
  
Hey all! I hope ya'll like my story so far! I've been working hard on it as soon as inspiration hits. I have tendencies to drop everything I'm doing to jot down a few lines I thought off. I know this doesn't seem like much of a story, but it's getting there. I promise. Anyways, I hope ya'll enjoy it. 


	5. Shiredell

"Lorne, so how are you, buddy?" Angel beat around the bush. "Are you feeling okay?"  
  
"No." Lorne said, not looking up. "Not about feeling any better," he clarified. "But about reading Koren again. I'm sorry, but I don't think I could deal with anymore of what I saw and even if I could, what makes you think that Wolfram and Hart would leave me alone this time? You know just as well as I do, that they'll come back with that thing and they might not leave me alive this time."  
  
"But."  
  
"No buts, Angel. I can't do it. I don't want to have that thing burrowing around in my head anymore. They've got what they wanted, lets not give them more." Lorne said, rubbing his bandaged head tenderly.  
  
"Alright. But that information was important. If you'll just read her one more time, we could figure out who she is and what Wolfram and Hart want from her."  
  
"Angel, you're not listening."  
  
"I am listening." Angel answered, cocking his head to one side.  
  
"You are? Not to me." Lorne said, seeing Angel's disturbed face.  
  
"I'll be back." Angel walked out of the room, following the sounds of the intruder. He walked down several halls and past the room that used to be Koren's. Suddenly he heard the sound from inside her room. He opened the door and saw a flash of color as the person attempted to hide. Just as it ran by him, Angel grabbed the guy and shoved him against the wall.  
  
"Ow." The person said.  
  
"I'm sorry." Angel whispered, feeling stupid as he put his son down. "Connor, you know that our doors are always open. You don't have to sneak around."  
  
"Koren wanted some of her things." Connor replied, emotionless as he continued to place things in boxes.  
  
"Oh..." Angel whispered. "Well, make sure you take her slippers. Her feet get cold."  
  
"I know." Connor answered, taking them and going to the dark window. "She's always stealing the covers.  
  
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"I'm not sure if I understand. You want me, a seasoned warrior of 400 years to make friends with a little girl? An infant almost." Rhiannon repeated again to make sure she had heard Lilah correctly.  
  
"Exactly. You've put it into better terms than I had." Lilah answered, cocky.  
  
"I don't believe it. When this is all over and done with, don't expect my people to be your allies anymore. Have a warrior Princess of evil like myself make friends with my younger sister. My toddler sister at that. The little princess of peace!"  
  
"But not of Peace, Rhiannon. That would be your other sister, Mannaline. You forget that Koren is the balance."  
  
"How could I forget? My little sister, the balance of the universe. The lost of her would mean that neither good nor evil could ever win the war. Sway her to good and good wins in the end. Sway her to evil, though and evil wins the war and all hell breaks loose on Earth and all of its dimensions. Isn't that wonderful?" Rhiannon sighed in delight. "To have all the demons free and loose would be so beautiful. No longer will my father have to hide in fear. Fear that Mannaline and her followers would destroy him. No more fear, no more Mannaline and best of all, no more Koren."  
  
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"I think I'm a homey person because this place is feeling less scary and a lot more lived in." Koren said as she moved her things around and redecorated the interior 'design' of the warehouse room. "Connor?"  
  
"Yeah?" He answered, walking in as he pulled a muscle shirt over his tanned, muscular body, hair-dripping wet from his shower.  
  
"Why aren't there any pictures of Angel? He gave me some." Connor took a second and shrugged.  
  
"I didn't see any." He answered.  
  
"Oh." She bent over, spreading a scarf on the coffee table as a tablecloth, showing a bit of cleavage from her low cut shirt. Connor watched her, his eyes on her chest. "I know this place looks great and I feel more comfortable, but I feel like there's something missing. I'm not sure what it is." She said, sitting down on the bed. Connor took another moment of thought before picking up an axe.  
  
"How does this feel?" He asked, placing it in her hand.  
  
"Umm...woodsy?" She answered, bewildered.  
  
"Maybe you used to fight and you miss it." He said, answering her confusion. "Maybe I can take you fighting again. You did well against the ninjas. I can take you out training. Think about it, okay?" He walked away as she yelled after him,  
  
"But what do I wear?"  
  
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"I've found something on Koren, or at least someone named Koren." Fred said, pointing at the computer screen. "I've seen this same exact thing on several others of the reliable web pages. There is another dimension called Shiredell where a Queen rules the land. Her people are the legendary Faeries of the Universe, the most powerful beings in the universe. More powerful than the Powers That Be. To her first husband, the evil demon Ketenes, she bore a daughter, Rhiannon Aethelreda. Soon later, Ketenes fled, knowing that Queen Teradyne would have him killed for being a demon. Teradyne remarried an Angel of Goodness, Gabriel, and with him, she bore another daughter, Mannaline. Then there was this whole deal between Mannaline and Rhiannon because they were both sworn to protect their fathers' honors. Rhiannon was for evil and the darkness, whereas Mannaline was striving for good and light. Teradyne knew of this and decided the best thing she could do was have another child 400 years after the birth of Rhiannon, 383 after Mannaline's birth. The most powerful child of all..." Fred explained.  
  
"A child named Koren, daughter of a powerful sorcerer and faerie, Sir Langdon. And that child will act as the balance between good and evil." Gunn interrupted, reading from his book.  
  
"And if she is swayed to good, all that is good will conquer and evil will perish..." Lorne said.  
  
"And if she is swayed to evil, then evil will rule the Earth." Cordelia finished.  
  
  
  
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Sorry for the short chapter, but this seemed to be a good place to stop. A bit of a cliffhanger for those who are reading this story. (Not really...just wanted to give people time to digest the story before I got into the really good stuff...I may have to up my rating for the love scene coming soon.) BTW, this is my first ever Angel fan fiction so please tell me if it was good. Tell me what I could do to make it better. And flame away. I never seem to get those. I find them so interesting, but I never get any flames... such a pity. Oh well... 


	6. What Connor wants

"AHH!" Koren screamed as Connor tackled her, shoving her out of the way. He quickly got up and turned to face the vampire that had dared to attack Koren. The creature snarled and lunged at him but Connor was faster, dodging easily giving Koren time to dart forward to put a stake into the demon. "I did it!" She yelled in excitement.  
  
"I know!" Connor answered, picking her up, spinning her, sharing her joy. He put her down carefully and she raised her head slightly, pressing her lips to his. He pulled away and smiled, knowing that he had her now. She was his. He pressed his lips to hers again, tasting her sweetness. Suddenly they were interrupted by a loud,  
  
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"  
  
"Connor! Someone's in trouble!" Koren said, fearful.  
  
"Way ahead of you." He took off down the alley as fast as he could go, Koren trailing after him, only a few yards behind him even though he had super speed. Koren watched helplessly at first as Connor flew into action, taking vampire after vampire. Koren jerked out of her trance, hearing some soft whimpering. She glanced over and saw the girl, huddled against the dumpster.  
  
"Hey." Koren whispered. "Are you alright?" She kneeled next to the girl, keeping some of her attention on the battle. The girl didn't answer, but rather sobbed into Koren's shoulder.  
  
"Uh!" Connor grunted, staking the last of the demons. "God, I hate those things!" He turned to face the girls. "Is she okay?"  
  
"I'm not sure. I think maybe we should take her back to the Hyperion. Angel and Cordy will know what to do." Koren said, helping the girl stand. "I can't wait to see the look on their faces when we bring home another stray for them to care."  
  
"I am glad they brought this stray home." Connor said, kissing her forehead over the other girl's head. "Let's take them to see dear, old Dad."  
  
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"What do you mean 'YOU FOUND HER'?" Angel yelled in frustration.  
  
"Just exactly that, Angel." Koren said, putting a hand on Angel's arm in hopes of calming him down over the girl.  
  
"We weren't sure what to do. Most of the time when I save someone from a vampire, they usually run off like I'm a demon too. But she just had a nervous break down or something because she hasn't stopped crying since. And it's been a good 2 hours now, I think."  
  
"If we can just get her to snap out of it, I'm sure she'll be alright." Fred announced after examining the girl. "Question is, how do we do that?"  
  
"I got it." Gunn stepped forward. "My sister used to go into hysterical outbreaks all the time...before the...well, you know." Gunn took the girl's hand away from her face and slapped her soundly. "SNAP OUTTA IT!" He shouted. She stopped immediately and reeled her arm back and punched him in the chin.  
  
"DON'T HIT ME!!!" She yelled, getting up. She turned and bowed to the others, Japanese style. "Thank you for saving me. I am sorry I went into that crazy thing. I have a history of not being able to stop crying. Thank you very much." She turned and headed towards the door.  
  
"Can we at least have a name so we can check up on you?" Koren yelled after her.  
  
"Coralie! Coralie Estelle Rogers." She flipped her red hair as she left.  
  
"Did anyone else find her strange and creepy?" Lorne asked, stepping out into the lobby. "I couldn't really tell from where I was, but were her eyes pitch black?"  
  
"Yeah. It was." Connor agreed.  
  
"From my experience, red heads don't have black eyes."  
  
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"Koren..." Connor gently shook the girl as he whispered her name.  
  
"Umm?" She asked, waking up. She had fallen asleep while everyone had been discussing matters at hand. The conversation really got serious after she was asleep, having turned to her and the discoveries about the Balance, or the Key as they had found her referred to as by many.  
  
"Let's go home, sweetie. I'm sure a bed would be more comforting than this couch." Connor said, helping her up. Angel watched his son and Koren intensely from the second floor. Everyone else had gone to bed and he wanted to make sure the two got out safely before he went to bed as well. He had tried to convince Connor to spend the night at the hotel with the others but the boy had refused, several times.  
  
"Alright, Connor." She leaned against him and let him take her out the door. In a spilt second, angel jumped down into the lobby and followed them, deciding that he would just have to make sure that they got home okay.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Connor helped Koren into bed, taking off her shoes. He got up and walked to the window and called out softly,  
  
"You can stop hiding in the shadows, Dad." Angel ducked into the room, looking ashamed.  
  
"I just wanted to make sure you and Koren got home okay. I didn't want to have you get attacked or something while she was half asleep." Angel glanced down to Koren's half dressed body. She had had Connor help her remove her pants, being in the habit of sleeping in nothing but a shirt and her panties.  
  
"And to make sure that we didn't do anything." Connor voiced Angel's suspicion. "I wouldn't let her, Dad. She's too important to me."  
  
"Oh. Because I thought that maybe I would need to give you the 'birds and the bees' talk."  
  
"Please don't, Dad." Connor said, sitting down in one of the chairs.  
  
"But isn't that what a father's supposed to do with his son?"  
  
"Spare me the embarrassing stalling and ritual handing of the playboy to the son crap, Dad." Connor said, sharpening one of his various weapons.  
  
"You called me 'Dad'." Angel suddenly realized.  
  
"I did that a lot tonight, in case you didn't notice." Connor said. "I've been working on getting over the bitterness towards you."  
  
"Thank you." Angel said, looking relived,  
  
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for Koren. She wants us to have another chance. She wants me to be able to remember you as the loving father she can't remember. She wants to be able to have us be a family, because she doesn't have one."  
  
"So you really don't want to have anything to do with me?" Angel summarized, feeling stabs of pain. Several minutes of silence followed before Connor answered.  
  
"No, you've got it all wrong. I do actually want to be able to come to you. Koren's just the main reason why I want to get started now. I want to have a father. I want to have a normal life. I want to have someone there for me. I just want it all right now so Koren will be happy. Right now, Koren is the only thing that matters to me. I know I've only known her for a few weeks, but she's the only thing that happens to matter to me. I want her to be happy and if this is the only way to make her happy, so be it." Connor didn't look up.  
  
"And I know this is the only thing that will make you happy." Koren's soft voice added. "The only thing that would make me happy is to see you happy."  
  
"So we're all good and happy?" Angel asked, trying to understand what he had just been told.  
  
"Yeah." Connor said. "Look, Dad. The sun's going to come up soon. Why don't you head back to the Hyperion and we'll come see you later. After we all get some sleep. We can discuss this some more later. And we can discuss Koren and I if we must."  
  
"Alright." Angel agreed, looking at his son. He reached over and gave his son a hug. Then he kissed Koren's forehead. He whispered to her. "Take care of my son, Koren. He can only do so much before he breaks. He can only love so much."  
  
  
  
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WOW! Look! I finished a whole chapter in like an hour! That is a major accomplishment for me. I usually take like 2 days to finish because I keep getting interrupted! BTW, I'm postponing the love scene for a while... I'm working hard on not making it NC-17, since ff.net doesn't let us have those anymore. So, I'll probably skip the scene...I'm trying really hard to have it, because it is really important to the plot. It's where everything goes wrong, or maybe not...I CAN'T DECIDE! ARGG!!!! 


	7. It's coming

"I'm glad that you're trying so hard with your father, Connor." Koren said, wrapping his arms around her.  
  
"I'm glad you're glad." He answered, kissing her softly. "Is it possible to fall in love in 3 weeks?" He whispered into her ear.  
  
"I don't know and I don't care." Said she, returning his kiss. "I know that I feel very strongly about you, but I'm not sure if I can call it love. I've never been in love before. At least I don't remember it."  
  
"I promise you I'll find someway to restore your memory." Connor hissed, harshly, hating the fact that there was nothing he could do for her. "I'll even ask for help to find a way."  
  
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"It's coming." Cordy sat up in bed in a trance. "From beneath us it will rise and it will devour." Angel glanced over at Cordy and called for Gunn, Fred, and Lorne.  
  
"Cordy." Angel called softly, shaking her as the others ran in.  
  
"It's coming and it's coming fast. It will rise and devour us all. Unless she can be persuaded to good." Cordelia answered him mechanically, still deep in her trance. The Powers that Be were transferring knowledge through her, directly. Something they'd never done before. "Release Mannaline from her prison and give her human form. Give good a chance in this battle and persuade the Balance to good." Then Cordy collapsed back into the bed as the Powers that Be cut off their connection with her.  
  
"Where can we find Mannaline?" Angel turn to Lorne and the others as he tucked Cordy back into her bed.  
  
"Well, she could be anywhere! She could---" Fred stopped as she was cut off by the ringing phone. Gunn ran out of the room and down the stairs to get the phone.  
  
"Angel Investigations. How may I help you?" Gunn pulled out a pen and began to jot down notes as the other phone rang. "Bleeding walls? Spread towels under it and please hold." He picked up the other phone as everyone came down the stairs. "Angel Investigations. What? Look, if Fluffy tries to eat your spine again, hit it hard with a bat and we'll be there as soon as possible. Yes? Back to the bleeding walls. Spritz it with a little 409 or Windex and we'll get there as soon as possible."  
  
"Business?" Angel asked, glancing at his notes as the phone rang again. "Angel Investigations. You have a half naked girl sitting in your room demanding to see a whom? Koren? Look, get the girl a blanket and we'll be there as soon as possible. She's what? Blonde, blue eyes, pointy ears? Listen, I'll be out there personally. Give me a few minutes, okay?" Angel hung up the phone. "I think we found Mannaline." He grabbed his car keys.  
  
"Look, Fred, some with me while the rest of you work on the phones and the other problems. Bleeding wall? Towels and leave the room. Killer kitty, shoot it with a sawed off rifle. If it doesn't die, ax to the head, aught to do it."  
  
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"What the flying hell do you mean you can't?" Lilah screamed.  
  
"Exactly that. She recognizes me. Or she thinks she does and that won't work." Rhiannon put her feet on Lilah's desk. "I think we move onto plan B. She and wonder boy's son have something for one another. We can kill two birds with one stone. Get the girl on our side and Angel extremely pissed off. Spell Cordelia to seduce Connor."  
  
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"There's something wrong. I can feel it. I need to see Angel." Koren whispered, rubbing her arms.  
  
"What do you mean? We'll go, but what do you mean?" Connor asked, wrapping his arms around her. Koren had gotten out of bed for some reason and Connor followed closely behind her.  
  
"There's something coming. It's coming and its coming fast. It wants me Connor. It doesn't want the sun to come up. It's keeping the sun with it. It wants to kill, Connor. It wants to kill everything and everyone. And it wants me to help. It wants me to kill you Connor! But I won't! I won't hurt you." She screamed, tense. "Leave me alone! I won't do it! It wants to destroy everything! It wants to kill you and me! It wants to take over and create havoc on the world! LEAVE ME ALONE! I WON'T DO IT! I WON'T!" She collapsed into Connor's arms.  
  
"Koren!" He shook her gently with no avail. Sighing, he picked her up and carried her to the Hyperion.  
  
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"What happened?" Angel demanded as Connor laid Koren down on the couch.  
  
"She collapsed. We were on our way over here and she started to scream about something coming. Something evil that will devour. It's keeping the sun from rising. It wants to kill and it wants her to kill. It won't leave her alone, Dad. I want it to leave her alone. What's going on? What's coming? What is it? Why won't it leave my Koren alone?"  
  
"I'm not sure, son. Cordy had a vision, straight from the Powers that Be. They know something's going on and they're just as scared as we are. They say we need to free Mannaline from her prison and let her sway the Balance to good. Connor, Koren is the balance." Angel sighed, sitting down and putting his head into his hands. "She's the source. It's her choice. If she goes to the side of good, then good will win this war. It will stop this, whatever this is. If she goes to evil, all evil will prevail."  
  
"So you mean, I'm going to either save the world or destroy it?" Koren asked, sitting up slowly.  
  
"That about covers it. Everyone is after you. And I've just got a call about an elf like creature and I think she may be Mannaline. I was on my way out to see her."  
  
"I'll go with you." Koren said, getting up.  
  
"And I'll come too." Connor followed her.  
  
"No, Connor. I want to face her alone. I want to go alone and the only way I can get there is through Angel. He'll be there to protect me, Connor. It'll be fine. Stay here and help them find out what's going on." She whispered to him. She pressed her lips to his and pulled away, whispering, "I love you, Connor." Before she followed Angel out the door.  
  
  
  
  
  
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A/N: Well, do you like? Tell me! This will of course, follow along to Connor and Cordy together. I really hated that when I saw it. Connor is mine. Cordy doesn't need him. She has Angel. Leave Connor alone! =) 


	8. Shireden

"Koren, slede mor'dan? O slede lum?n?" The elfin maid whispered to Koren.  
  
"I'm sorry. I don't understand." Koren answered, leaning in towards the girl. The blonde smiled and touched a finger to Koren's forehead. Koren screamed as her past invaded her body and mind, filling it with centuries of knowledge.  
  
"KOREN!" Angel yelled, catching the girl as she fell.  
  
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"Connor, will you come with me?" Cordy asked, standing up all of a sudden.  
  
"Where?" He asked, following her out of the Hyperion.  
  
"I think I know where this thing is going to invade. I know where it's going to come."  
  
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"Sleda n?n. Ler'ranta de bancan, Mannaline. Ler'rant bancan." Koren said, struggling to sit up as she regained conscious.  
  
"Are you okay?" Angel asked, helping her to her feet.  
  
"I'm fine, Angel. Do me a favor and help me get Mannaline back to the hotel, please."  
  
"Qued'de Wol'ram anca Harr. Teg? nular'den. Teg? nular'den cumando. Puwa bennete dea í cogli riza."  
  
"What did she say?" Angel asked, staring at the elf.  
  
"'Question Wolfram and Hart. They know. They know what's coming. From beneath us it will rise.' She's serious Angel. And she speaks the truth. I can feel it coming. It's coming and Wolfram and Hart know what it is. If they don't, they have an idea. Whatever it was, Lorne read it from me. You have to go get whatever it was they took."  
  
"I will." Angel put his game face on. "Lets get you two home first."  
  
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"And let your power over come! Let the lust burn deep in her soul! Let it scorch his heart and let them be one. Sauna mun í bea!" Rhiannon screamed, throwing the last and most powerful herb, vervain, into the fire. She glowed the darkest black Lilah thought was possible and turned to face Lilah. "It is done. She will seduce him before the night is over and Koren will turn to us."  
  
"Good." Lilah sneered.  
  
"Puwa bennete dea í cogli riza." Rhiannon said. "It will rise soon and all of Earth will fall into Hell. There is no stopping it, but one and she will be ours soon. My father will be released and scour the Earth of all those unworthy of him and his dark reign!"  
  
"What do you mean 'all of Earth will fall into Hell'?" Lilah demanded.  
  
"Exactly that, Lilah. Earth will fall into the depths of Hell and no creature will escape his judgement."  
  
"What the fuck?" Lilah mumbled as she left the room. "I wasn't told anything about the world ending...the Board is gonna kill me!"  
  
  
  
"Laurence!" Lilah yelled, throwing open the doors to her office. "Ugh...Hello, Angel." She closed the doors and walked over to her desk where Angel sat, waiting for her.  
  
"Lilah." He greeted her.  
  
"I see you got past the guards."  
  
"Who? Them?" Angel asked, nodding his head towards the two men tied up on her couch.  
  
"Look. I'm figuring you're here to talk about Lorne. So, like always, you tell me to give it back and I tell you to go to hell. You threaten me and I tell you to shove it up your ass. Same thing, yada yada. That was really great. Now can you leave so I can get some work done?" She slammed a heavy file on her desk and sat down.  
  
"Well, you were right and everything but I do know that whatever's coming is going to end the world. The way I see it, you and I should work together. See, for you, it's a win-win situation. This thing is gonna end the world and that's going to be a problem for YOUR end of the world. Work with me and we get rid of this thing and you can have your end of the world and you win. We don't manage to get rid of this thing, I die and you win anyway. So what are you going to do?" Lilah sighed and pulled a few files out of the folder on the desk.  
  
"This is what we got from Lorne. We're not sure what it means, but we're sure it's the answers. I can't decipher it though. Every time we try, the person working on it ends up with their head exploding. I've had to have 4 people scrubbed out of my carpeting and walls already. You're welcome to take it home and figure it out." She handed the papers to Angel. "Can you please leave now? I've got to figure it out too."  
  
"I knew you'd see it my way." Angel smiled and jumped out of the window, disappearing into the night.  
  
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"Where are we?" Connor asked, following Cordelia down an alley.  
  
"Oh my god..." She gasped, recognizing where they were.  
  
"What?"  
  
"This is where Darla killed herself." Cordy whispered.  
  
"You mean this is where I was born?" Connor asked, looking around.  
  
"Yeah. Just right there." She pointed. Suddenly the ground started shaking and breaking.  
  
"What the hell is going on?" Connor asked, steadying Cordy.  
  
"That. It's come." She cried, still pointing to the spot where Connor was born. The ground broke there and glowed red as a demon rose from the area. Connor ran at it and punched it hard. I didn't flinch and swung its arm, causing Connor to fly across the alley.  
  
"Cordy!" Connor screamed as the thing advanced on Cordelia. He grabbed a pipe and ran over, whacking it as hard as he could. The thing hit him in the ribs and threw him away again. It smiled at Cordelia and jumped up, disappearing into the sky.  
  
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Shireden Dictionary  
  
Sauna mun í bea! So mote it be!  
  
Puwa bennete dea í cogli riza. From beneath us it will rise.  
  
Teg? nular'den cumando. They know what's coming.  
  
Teg? nular'den. They know.  
  
Qued'de Wol'ram anca Harr. Question Wolfram and Hart.  
  
Ler'rant bancan. Welcome back.  
  
Ler'ranta de bancan, Mannaline. I welcome you back, Mannaline  
  
Sleda n?n. I am none.  
  
Slede mor'dan? Are you Evil?  
  
O slede lum?n? Or are you good?  
  
  
  
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Sorry it took me so long to spit this chapter out. I've been bogged down with homework of all kinds. Horrid, really. Well, Chapter nine's in the process of being written. Oh! Look! I invented my own language. Ummm...I call it...Shireden. =) 


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